Flag Fen | Last chance to see
One of the most important Bronze Age sites in Britain lies just a few miles outside of Peterborough. Yet despite its international importance, Flag Fen is in real danger of disappearing forever due to the fens - and funds - drying up. Can we really allow such a magnificent monument to vanish? Stuart Barker steps back in time some 3,500 years to unravel the mystery of Flag Fen before it’s too late.
The room is cold and dark and has a strange, damp feel, the atmosphere moist and clinging. The sprinklers are activated automatically every half hour despite there being no immediate threat of fire. The water they produce falls onto a bed of gnarled, twisted timbers protruding from a dank mud, their tortured shapes glistening under the regular dowsing.
The moist air, deadened sound, and low light make for an other-worldly atmosphere that couldn’t be more appropriate. That’s because, once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, it becomes apparent that you really are looking at another world; a world that existed 3,500 years ago. A world of paganism, religious rituals, offerings to the gods, sacrifices and mysticism; a world that we know very little about. A Bronze Age world. The world of Flag Fen.